MORE travel agents
are booking hotels
and accommodation
through the GDS, and
technology companies are
making it easier. But the
medium is more expensive,
say hotel groups.
Travelport recently acquired
Hotelzon, a business-tobusiness
hotel distribution
technology provider, from Esa
Karppinen. The acquisition
is expected to support
Travelport’s drive to make
booking independent hotels,
particularly in Europe, easier
for travel agencies and
corporates. The Hotelzon
solution is also effective for
hotel bookings that are not
add-ons for flight bookings.
“We are seeing a strong
picture across the globe when
it comes to hotel bookings as
TMCs are seeing even greater
value in booking via our
platform. In SA specifically we
have embarked on a series of
training initiatives highlighting
the benefits of booking through
us, which has prompted an
upturn with our agents and
we have seen a strong start
to 2014 with an increase in
booking volumes,” says Kate
Aldridge, Travelport’s vp of
corporate communications.
Last year a survey by Phoenix
Marketing International and
Travelclick found that travel
agents worldwide using
the GDS for hotel bookings
increased by 14% from 2011.
Jannine Adams, senior
marketing manager for
Amadeus, says the increase in
hotel bookings on its system
stems from additional content
added to Amadeus’s system in
2013. “The GDS is accurate,
speedy, and streamlines
workflow for comprehensive
itineraries, vouchers and
invoicing. Mark-ups are
possible in Amadeus and very
soon a one-swipe option on
credit cards will be available.”
But Kamil Abdul-Karrim, md
of Pam Golding Tourism &
Hospitality Consulting, says
an increase in GDS hotel
bookings is proportionate to
growth in the travel industry
and not necessarily because
more agents favour the GDS
over other channels. Kamil
says hotel groups will continue
to rely on GDS bookings,
particularly for corporate and
government clients, but that
pricing has to be sustainable.
He says larger hotel groups
are adopting a transaction fee
for travel agents rather than
commission based on the
number of nights.
Imtiaz Amod, group
reservation manager of
Peermont, says: “A fair
amount of corporate travellers
have adopted OTAs such as
Booking.com and Expedia
as their preferred booking
channel. Multinational
organisations are moving to
OTAs as their travellers have
direct access to immediately
make or modify their travel
arrangements.” He says GDS
prices are slightly higher than
direct bookings as the GDS
costs are mostly built into the
price. “Direct bookings are
obviously any hotelier’s first
preference but each channel
has a place and we have
adapted accordingly.”
Peter Schoeman, City
Lodge’s divisional director of
sales and marketing, says the
group gets “lots of bookings
via the GDS” as it is easier
for agents to use and to
prepare an itinerary for the
client on the system. He says
City Lodge doesn’t have any
measures that drive bookings
via GDS as it costs more to
go via this channel. “Website
bookings are slightly cheaper
for clients as no intermediaries
are involved. On the whole,
prices might be similar but for
us the cost of doing business
directly is less than through
the GDS. However, this is
still an important source of
business and revenue.” He
adds that the group’s website
and mobisite are alternative
booking tools that are growing
in usage and popularity.
Danny Bryer, Protea Hotels
director of sales, marketing
and revenue, says one has
to look at the big picture and
cost is only one small element
of that. “At the centre is the
full value proposition that the
channel brings to customers.
Travel agents provide a onestop
service for everything
from flights to car hire to
accommodation.” This, he
says, is essential for many
corporates in terms of their
travel policies or to reap the
benefits of their pre-negotiated
annual rates.
Agents booking in the GDS
benefit from convenience,
efficiency and commission,
Kate adds. “Travel agencies
are sometimes still seen as
being focused on air ticket
bookings and there are myths
surrounding hotel bookings,
for example the belief that
sometimes better rates are
available on a hotel’s own
website and maybe booking
outside of the GDS would be
easier to track for reclaiming
commissions, but thankfully
these perceptions are now
changing.”
